Nail feeding mechanism



Feb. 2, 1960 H. v. PIERSON 2,923,186

NAIL FEEDING MECHANISM Filed 001;. 10, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 //v VE/V TOR HERMAN u p/mso/v,

his A l/orney.

Feb. 2, 1960 v. PIERSON 2,923,186

NAIL FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 10, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 N 44 2 I6 84 7 '3 j H 34 2 F11 so 3a I I l 78 O 22 SE2 6'2 50- i 1 I 1 "-74 ,4 54 4 0-: T 3 L 56 26 R w INVENTOI? HE RMAN l PIE RSO/V,

his Attorney.

Feb. 2, 1960 H. v. PIERSON NAIL FEEDING MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 10, 1956 //V l E N TOR his Attorney.

HE RMAN l P/ERSO/V,

United States Patent 2,923,186 Patented Feb. 2, 1960 ice 2,923,186 NAIL FEEDING MECHANISM Herman V. Pierson, Joliet, 111., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application October 10, 1956, Serial No. 615,132

2 Claims. (Cl. 80-7) This invention relates to a nail feeding mechanism and more particularly to such a mechanism for feeding nails between stationary and rotating dies which roll threads on the shank of the nail. In the apparatus formerly used for'this purpose the nail blanks slide down a chute to a position adjacent the entry end of the dies after which a pusher pushed the nails into the dies. The heads of the nail blanks overlap and in many instances nail blanks became tangled and more than one nail blank was pushed by the pusher, thus clogging the mechanism. Also, in some instances the nail blank became cocked thus clogging the mechanism.

It is an object of the present invention to provide mechanism for feeding nail blanks to the thread rolling machine in which each nail is fed separately into the dies without interference from the nails behind it.

This and other objects will be more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a nail grooving machine with my improved feeding mechanism attached thereto;

Figure 2 is a view, similar to Figure 1, with parts broken away and showing parts in different positions;

Figure 3 is a view taken on the line III--III of Figure Figure 4 is a view taken on the line IVIV of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a view taken on the line V-V of Figure 1; Figure 6 is an enlarged plan view of a detail; and Figure 7 is a side elevation of Figure 6.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference numeral 2 indicates a shaft on which is mounted a rotatable thread rolling die 4. A stationary die 6 is mounted adjacent the die 4 and extends around the circumference of the die 4 in spaced relationship thereto. Serrations 10 and 12 are provided on the dies 4 and 6, respectively. The shape and number of serrations 10 and 12 may vary and in some instances a single thread may be rolled on the nail blank. The die 6 is mounted on machine frame 14 in the usual manner. A chute 16 delivers nail blanks N to a position adjacent space 18 between the dies 4 and 6. Heads H of the nail blanks N support the blanks on the chute 16 with the shanks S of the nail blanks extending downwardly. A cam 20 is keyed to shaft 2 above the die 4. The cam 26 has six raised points 22 thereon. The shaft 2. is supported on the machine frame 14 and is driven by a motor 24. A generally L-shaped supporting member 26 is carried by the machine frame 14. A groove 28 extending generally tangential to the die 4 is provided in the member 26 for receiving a pusher 30. Pusher 30 includes an elongated body portion 32 the forward end 34 of which terminates in a vertical face which engages the shanks S of the nail blanks. A plate 36 is mounted on top of the elongated body portion 32 by means of bolts 38, shims 4 3 being positioned therebetween so as to provide a vertical space 42 between the plate 36 and body portion 32. The forward end 44 of plate 36 is curved and extends beyond the forward end 34 to engage the heads H of the nail to the body portion 32 and is provided with a vertical slot 48 for a purpose which will appear later. A plate 50 is attached to member 26 with a portion thereof extending over the body portion 32 to hold it in groove 28. A bifurcated lever 52 receives member 46 between its bifurcations and is attached thereto by means of a pin 54. The other end of lever 52 is keyed to a pin 56 for movement therewith, pin 56 being mounted on the supporting member 26. A spring 58 has one end attached to the lever 52 and the other end attached to the supporting member 26. Keyed to pin 56 above lever 52 is a second lever 60 having a cam follower 62 on its free end which engages cam 20. A bracket 64 is attached to supporting member 26 in any suitable manner, such as by cap screws, with its free end extending rearwardly therefrom. The free end of bracket 64 has an upwardly extending portion 66 thereonhaving a hole 68 therethrough for receiving a threaded pin 70. The forward end of the pin '70 is threaded into the rearward end of the body portion 32 and nuts 72 are threaded on the pin 78 in spaced relationship on each side of the bracket portion 66. A guide 74 is attached to the supporting member 26 and has a vertical wall 76 which acts as a guide for the forward end 34 of the pusher. The vertical wall 76 terminates adjacent the discharge end of the chute 16. A bracket 78 is detachably secured on top of the guide 74 by means of cap screws 80 which pass through slotted openings 82 in the bracket 78. A rotatable feeder 84 is mounted on the forward end of the bracket 78 with a port on thereof extending into the space 42 between the body 32 and plate 36 of the pusher. The feeder 84 has a plurality of notches 86 around its periphery for receiving successive nail blanks. Holes 88 are provided in feeder 84 with the same spacing as the notches 86. A vertical opening 90 is provided in the bracket 78 for receiving a pin 92 which bears against a ball 94 adapted to engage in the holes 88. A leaf spring 96 bears against the pin 92. If desired more than one die feedng mechanism may be provided around the periphery of the die 4 but only one is shown since the operation will be the same for each mechanism.

The operation of my device is as follows:

When the motor 24 is energized the shaft 2 rotates, thus rotating the die 4 and cam 20. As the cam 20 rotates it engages the cam roller 62 putting the lever 52 and 6 2 through six complete movements for each rotation of the die 4. Spring 58 retracts pusher 30 and keeps the roller 62 against the cam 28. When the roller 62 contacts a high spot 22 the pusher 30 is moved forwardly in the slot 28 with the forward end 34 engaging shank S of a nail blank and the forward end 34 of plate 36 engaging the head of the nail in the notch 86 aligned with the chute. Reciprocation of pusher 30 rotates the feeder 84 through thirty degrees, the ball 94 moving from one opening 88 to the next opening 88 so as to index the feeder exactly thirty degrees. This moves the nail blank N in the notch 86 into the space 18 as shown in Figure 2. Rotation of the die 4 moves the nail blank N completely through the space 18 between the dies 4 and 6 and provides the threads on the shank of the nail. The slot 48 provides a loose connection with the pin 54 while the nuts 72 engagingthe ends of bracket portion 66 provide positive stops for the end travels of the pusher 30.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the fol-lowing claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for rolling threads on blanks having a shank and head including a rotatable thread rolling die having a generally vertical axis and a stationary die spaced therefrom between which the blanks pass, the combination including a feeder mounted adjacent the entry into said dies for rotation about a generally vertical axis, said rotatable feeder having a plurality of notches around its periphery for receiving the shanks of successive blanks, a chute for feeding nail blanks with their heads upwardly into said notches, a pusher mounted for generally horizontal reciprocating movement in a direction to move a blank from one of said notches to the space between said dies, and means for reciprocating said pusher.

2. In a machine for rolling threads on blanks having a shank and head including a rotatable thread rolling die having a generally vertical axis and a stationary die spaced therefrom between which the blanks pass, the combination including a feeder mounted adjacent the entry into said dies for rotation about a generally vertical axis, said rotatable feeder having a plurality of notches around its periphery for receiving the shanks of successive blanks, and a hole associated with each notch, a spring pressed ball adapted to engage successively in said holes to retard movement of said rotatable feeder, a chute for feeding blanks with their heads upwardly into said notches, a pusher mounted for generally horizontal reciprocating movement in a direction to move a blank from oneof said notches to the space between said dies, resilient means urging said pusher away from said space, a lever having one end connected to said pusher, pivot means mounting the other end of said lever, a second .l ver mounted on said pivot means for movement with said first lever, a rotatable cam mounted for movement with said rotatable die, and a cam follower mounted on said second lever to engage said cam whereby said'pusher is reciprocated.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,017,881 Landis Feb. 20, 1912 1,384,585 Barany July 12, 1921 2,561,966 Baumle July 24, 1951 2,662,430 Fray Dec. 15, 1953 2,685,806 Fray Aug. 10, 1954 2,728,092 Poupitch Dec. 27, 1955 2,737,833 Plagemann et al. Mar. 13, 1956 2,792,729 Prutton May 21, 1957 2,859,646 Moeltzner Nov. 11, 1958 

